The deal with Thai real estate investor and developer Tawanna Property Company Limited will see the former Tawanna Bangkok hotel rebranded as voco Bangkok Surawong.
Full renovation
The 242-room site will now undergo a full renovation, ready for reopening in Q2 2025.
Located a 40-minute drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, the hotel’s facilities include two restaurants and bars, more than 500 sq m of meeting rooms, an outdoor pool, gym and kids club.
Launch market
Saowarin Chanprakaisi, director, development, South East Asia and Korea, IHG said: “I am excited to partner Tawanna Property Company Limited for the second signing of voco hotels in Thailand.
“Bangkok is one of the world’s best-loved travel destinations with 25 million arrivals expected this year, and has historically been a market where IHG launches new brands – Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and, most recently in 2022, Vignette Collection. These successful market debuts have led to multiple signings and openings across Thailand and Asia.
“At IHG, we’re increasingly seeing the growth of conversion opportunities, and a key part of voco’s appeal for owners is the pace at which its hotels are able to convert into IHG systems, quickly benefit on a global scale and maximise their returns. We look forward to extending voco hotels’ thoughtful and unstuffy nature to travellers to Bangkok.”
Quality portfolio
Piriya Thepkanjana, who serves on the board of directors at Tawanna Property Company Limited, added: “We want to grow a quality hotel portfolio that’s well-loved by guests and offers differing and unique experiences. We’ve seen the success of voco hotels’ recent debut in markets such as Gangnam in Seoul, Melbourne and Singapore, and its distinctive lifestyle experience is perfect for travellers and local visitors to the bustling vibrant destination of Surawong.
“We have established a great partnership with IHG, and their decades-long presence and investment in Thailand has enabled them to develop strong local expertise combined with best-in-class global enterprise which will ensure our new property is also a success.”
Premium pace
voco is IHG’s fastest growing premium brand since its 2018 global launch, with 45 open hotels and 39 in the pipeline. voco Bangkok Surawong joins the already-open voco Bangkok Sukhumvit 11. Other recent openings include voco Seoul Gangnam, voco Melbourne Central, voco Nanjing Garden Expo and voco Chicago Downtown.
Further Asian sites planned for the brand include: voco Shanghai Hongqiao Business CBD, a 161-key newbuild heading to China in Q4 this year; voco Jim Corbett, set to add 100 rooms to Ramnagar in India in Q3 2024; and the mammoth 648-key voco Danang Ba Na Hills, which will become part of the Ba Na Hills Entertainment Complex in Vietnam in 2026.
Thailand continues to be a strong growth market for IHG with 33 hotels across 10 brands in the country and 34 in the pipeline as the company continues to meet demand and double its estate across all of its brands in the country by 2026.
